Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to the field of aviation and, more particularly, to an uninhabited aircraft system (UAS) particularly adapted for aerial firefighting application.
Brief Discussion of Related Art
Aerial firefighting is particularly adapted to remote areas where urban infrastructure. One method of aerial firefighting involves dropping a large volume of water or fire-retardant material (e.g., foam, or the like, without limitation) in the area of the fire, and hoping that an effective portion of the dropped load would actually reach the base of the fire. For simplicity, “water” as used herein will include water, firefighting foam and/or chemicals in whatever form.
In practice, it is often the case that most of the water and/or foam does not reach the fire. Among the reasons for the ineffectiveness of many drops is that the pilots have not been able to go below a certain altitude with respect to the fire. Among the reasons for this is the risk to the pilots and their aircraft of flying too low over the fire. As a result, the pilot will drop the water from a higher altitude.
Furthermore, with the existing systems, pilots cannot adequately see the base of the fire, which is typically obscured by smoke. Therefore, their drops are less accurate. Therefore, a solution to the problem of creating an effective aerial firefighting platform is wanting.